Deleting expletives at work

May 27, 2009|By Diane Stafford, McClatchy/Tribune News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Expletive excess in public venues and workplaces is a rising tide.

From White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to actor Christian Bale -- who infamously spewed a 3 1/2 -minute F-bomb rant on the set of the latest "Terminator" film -- the air brims with cussing.

A study published two years ago in the Leadership & Organization Development Journal suggested that swearing can be a healthy release in high-pressure workplaces.

Though 40 percent of business owners in a SurePayroll.com survey admitted swearing on the job, 80 percent said it is out of place at work and gives the wrong impression. Only 11 percent saw it as a justified pressure valve or morale booster.

Jim O'Connor, spurred by the ubiquity of foul speech, founded the Cuss Control Academy, which does "interventions" and job-site workshops.

"We need to ask ourselves why we're swearing. We need to understand the negativity, laziness or whatever is the root cause and address that," said O'Connor, who wrote "Cuss Control: The Complete Book on How to Curb Your Cursing."

SurePayroll President Michael Alter has some suggestions:

*Take repeat offenders aside, privately, and remind them of no-profanity expectations in the office.

*Make it clear that profanity offends co-workers and customers and that everyone should try to quash it on the job.

*Make up some "code" cuss words. He said one company decided on "brother trucker" and "what the French toast."

*Start a "swearing fund" that people must contribute to when the expletives fly. That one can backfire, as anyone who's seen the hilarious Budweiser "swear jar" ad knows.